


Love and Honour: A Kenji Tale

by manic_intent



Category: Ghost of Tsushima (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, M/M, Spoilers, That AU where Kenji saves the day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25628530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manic_intent/pseuds/manic_intent
Summary: “Kenji,” said Kenji’s newest friend as they took a walk away from the sake brewery, “it occurs to me that you’re the least honourable friend I know.”Kenji clutched at his chest in a show of wounded horror. “Wah! Lord Sakai, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but there are a lot of malicious people out there. Whatever it is, I can explain.”
Relationships: Ryuzo/Sakai Jin, Sakai Jin/Ryuzo
Comments: 44
Kudos: 251





	Love and Honour: A Kenji Tale

**Author's Note:**

> Three fics in and my favourite character in the game only had a passing mention = needs to be rectified. Kenji is the best character in the game. Sorry, I won’t be taking questions on this point, this dodgy af chaos agent/sake-seller/con-man is awesome. His quests with Jin are a light in all the bleakness. 
> 
> Spoilers for the game (but mostly Act 1). 
> 
> S
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> P
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> L
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> R

“Kenji,” said Kenji’s newest friend as they took a walk away from the sake brewery, “it occurs to me that you’re the least honourable friend I know.” 

Kenji clutched at his chest in a show of wounded horror. “Wah! Lord Sakai, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but there are a lot of malicious people out there. Whatever it is, I can explain.” 

Sakai Jin stared at him, unimpressed. Kenji had the (mis)fortune to meet several samurai lords throughout his colourful career in sake salesmanship, and none of them had been like Jin. There were a few who were cold and implacable, like Lord Watanabe. A few who were willing to speak to Kenji as an equal despite his low birth, like Lord Wakamoto. Some who radiated an unsettling air of invincibility, like Lord Adachi. None all at once like Jin, who could be like any of them whenever it suited him. 

“Why, what might I have heard?” Jin asked. Dressed like a traveller, with a straw hat shading his eyes, Jin radiated quiet amusement. It would’ve been reassuring if Kenji hadn’t seen what Jin was capable of firsthand. 

“I don’t know?” Kenji said, trying to exude innocence as he twisted his hands together. Was it the deal he just cut with the Riku brothers? Or—

“I’m here to ask for your help,” Jin said with a glance over his shoulder to check that they were alone. 

“Ah.” Kenji smiled toothily to hide his relief. “Yes, Lord Sakai, anything for Lord Sakai. We must all do our part against the Mongols, Lord Sakai. This lowly sake-seller is at your service.” 

Jin rubbed his hand slowly over his face, biting down on his lip to stifle a laugh. “Please. Be serious.” 

“Extremely serious. I’m always serious. This is, after all, a serious thing,” Kenji said, nodding vigorously. “What is this very serious thing that you need from me, Lord Sakai?” 

“I need you to do a dishonourable thing on my behalf,” Jin said, so very solemn. “You should not feel obligated to agree. I’ve thought about the matter for over a day, and I am ashamed to even ask this of you, but I believe I may have little choice.” 

“What sort of dishonourable thing?” Kenji said, amazed and now intrigued. “Cheating at gambling? Skimming stock? Watering down some sake? Theft? Blackmail? Ooh… does it have to do with a young woman?” 

Jin looked increasingly shocked at Kenji’s guesses. “No… no! No. I. Need you to help me spy on someone.” 

“Ehhh? Me? Lord Sakai, you are a warrior whose acts will be legend, a samurai without compare, endlessly courageous, handsome and young and the most eligible bachelor on Tsushima, beloved of divine messengers and birds and horses. I am just a sake-seller. I don’t know how to sneak through tall grass or climb houses and cliffs and jump between rooftops and all that,” Kenji said nervously. “The Mongols will see me from far away! Or if not, they’ll smell the sake.” 

“Not the Mongols. The Straw Hats. In particular, their leader, Ryuzo,” Jin said. 

“The Straw Hat Ronin?” Kenji said, puzzled. “Aren’t they your friends?” He was reasonably sure Yuna said something or other along those lines the last she’d come by the brewery. Kenji had made a mental note to maybe try selling sake to the Straw Hats at a ‘Friend of Lord Sakai’ premium. That worked now and then. People who knew Jin were either afraid enough of him to pay a premium to someone they thought to be Jin’s friend, or grateful enough to do the same. 

“They’re my allies for now, and Ryuzo is an old friend of mine. However, I can’t shake a feeling I had from the last time we worked together.” Jin looked away, exhaling in irritation. “I don’t know how to ask him about it without ruining things between us. So I’d like you to approach him. Subtly. Find things out for me.”

“What things?” 

“We used to be close. I haven’t seen him for three years, but when I met him again recently things felt like…” Jin trailed off uncomfortably. “It doesn’t feel like the way things were when we were children. Especially recently. I want to know whether things have changed between us.”

“Oh-h-h. I understand now.” Kenji grinned broadly. No _wonder_ a young man from a daimyo clan like Jin was still unmarried. No wonder he treated Yuna like any other fighter, and didn’t give even Sana-chan from Kenji’s brewery a second glance. So things were like that. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I can do this for you, and I am a very broad-minded person. This Ryuzo must be very handsome.”

Jin gave Kenji a look of confusion. “He is, but. What does that have to do with anything?” 

“Nothing, nothing at all.” Jin had to be one of those ‘personality before looks’ sort of people. Kenji rubbed his hands together. “Meet me back here in two days.” 

“Thank you again,” Jin said, visibly relieved. “I’m sorry to have to ask this of you.” 

“Not at all, not at all. We’re friends, aren’t we? I don’t even think it’s dishonourable,” Kenji said. After all, love between adult men wasn’t much different from wakashūdo, was it? Kenji never understood why high society considered it admirable if one partner was an adolescent and got strange about it if both were adults. Still, the samurai-class did tend to have odd ideas about everything. 

“All right,” Jin said, nodding. “Two days. Be careful.”

“I’m always careful. An expert in being careful. Why do you think I’m still here?” 

“Sometimes, I wonder.”

#

Deciding to donate a couple of casks of good sake to the cause hurt a little, but Kenji consoled himself and his purse by noting that it was all in the name of romance. However, Kenji had never had any experience in being a romantic go-between before, let alone between two grown men who should be sorting out their own business without him. As such, he decided to consult the experts.

There was silence after Kenji briefed Ichika and the other women at the brewery, having sworn them to secrecy. Sana glanced at Ichika, raising her eyebrows, while Yua hid her mouth with her sleeve. “We’re talking about Lord Sakai?” Ichika said. As toji of the brewery and a new grandmother, Ichika was a fierce, no-nonsense woman who sometimes frightened even Kenji. “The so-called Ghost of Tsushima?” 

“Yes?” Kenji said.

“Isn’t he a grown man?” Ichika said, scowling. “Why is this our problem?”

“He _is_ young,” Yua said with a gentle smile. 

“Probably very repressed,” Sana said, and snickered as Yua shushed her. For all that she was one of the most beautiful women Kenji had ever seen, Sana had a tongue as sharp as a yanagi ba. The last time Kenji had ventured to respectfully tell her that this might be why she was still unmarried, she’d nearly brained him on the spot with a dakidaru canister. 

“He’s handsome enough. What about the childhood friend?” Yua asked. 

“The same, but Lord Sakai says that isn’t important,” Kenji said. 

Yua sighed dreamily and fanned herself with her palm. Sana sniffed loudly. “Feh. They always say that, but they don’t mean it. All men only think with their snakes.” 

As Kenji made a choking noise, Ichika said, “What exactly did you need from us? Isn’t it a simple enough matter for you to get this Ryuzo drunk on sake and ask him the right questions? The Gods know you’ve done the same to others.” 

“Eh, well, Lord Sakai has done so much for me—” Kenji began.

“He’s dug you out of your messes, and you want him to keep doing so,” Sana translated, folding her arms. 

“Just so, just so. This is good for all of us too! We can all keep making sake forever without having to worry about my occasional mistakes. Which are very often not my fault. But yes, I was thinking. Maybe we could… help… Lord Sakai? As Yua says, he’s very young, and as Sana says, he’s very repressed.” Kenji stretched out his hands hopefully. “He’s the son of a daimyo. Nephew of the Jitō. Who knows, after all this, maybe our humble brewery could rise to greater heights.” 

“This is like all of your other schemes,” Ichika said, wrinkling her nose. “Stupid beyond measure.”

Kenji clutched at his heart. “Wah! Ichika-san, how could you say such a thing?”

“Think of all the things that could go wrong. What if you offend the Straw Hats, hm? They’re dangerous. Or make a mess of this and offend both the Straw Hats _and_ Lord Sakai?” Ichika glared at Kenji. 

“Maa, maa,” Yua said, holding up her palms. “Let’s not go that far. Kenji-san, talk to this Ryuzo first. Maybe he doesn’t think of Lord Sakai that way. Maybe it’s something else that isn’t right between them. Like a secret grudge. Or more.” 

“That’s right. Talk to the Straw Hats. In the meantime, we’ll see what we can do,” Sana said, tapping at her chin. “I know where I could get my hands on some seaweed extract for cheap.” 

“Seaweed extract? For what?” Kenji asked, mystified. “Cooking?”

“Surely between those two and their swords, they’d have enough choji oil for any new blades they need to bare,” Yua said. Sana let out a yelp of laughter, slapping at her knees. Even Ichika coughed and covered her mouth, her eyes crinkling. 

Confused, but by no means a stranger to the three women having jokes at his expense, Kenji got to his feet. “Well. Whatever it is, if you think it’d help, Lord Sakai will return to the brewery in two days.” 

“You’d better give us a raise for this,” Ichika said with a familiar hard gleam to her eyes. 

“Maa… Ichika-san… you know, what with the war, and times being hard, and all our best customers dying on a beach—“ Kenji gulped as Ichika growled. Growled! At him! “Hai, hai. I’ll see what I can do. Ah. Thank you!” He fled for the safety of his new farmhorse and the cart of sake casks. Patting the mare’s soft nose, Kenji said, “Himari-chan, this world is full of dangerous women. Don’t be like them.” 

The mare snuffled his hands, hoping for treats. Petting her forelock, Kenji began calculating the safest route to where the Straw Hats were known to be camped.

#

Ryuzo-the-childhood-friend was indeed handsome, though Kenji had seen better. Still, there was no accounting for taste, eh? Maybe it was the way the man couldn’t seem to keep his yukata closed over his chest. Ryuzo had frowned at Kenji when Kenji had shown up at the Straw Hat camp with sake. Made him sample a little from each cask too, when Kenji had said they had a mutual friend in Lord Sakai. Kenji supposed that maybe he didn’t look like a friend that Jin might keep. Had the war never happened, they’d likely never have spoken save maybe over a sake sale.

“What does Jin want?” Ryuzo asked. They’d left Ryuzo’s men to the sake and walked over to a quiet corner of the camp. For a camp of the most-feared ronin in Tsushima, Kenji was a little disappointed. What were they all doing on this strange, cold section of the cliffs? Couldn’t they just free and occupy one of the fishing villages? 

“Lord Sakai? Nothing,” Kenji said glibly. “He just mentioned you in passing to me. Ryuzo-san, I’m a businessman. You’re a businessman too, aren’t you? Maybe we could come to an agreement.” 

“An agreement over what?” Ryuzo said, though he relaxed a fraction. 

“Well, you see, bandits have this love of sake, but I have this conflicting love of getting my sake to the people who want to pay me for it, so.” Kenji gestured expansively in the direction of the sake cart. “Sometimes, we have a difference of opinion, and it’s very stressful for an honest businessman.”

“Honest,” Ryuzo said, with an amused curl to his mouth. “I’ve heard of you, Kenji- _san_. Our late leader, Kosei, used to say that Lord Watanabe enjoyed your sake but regretted the character of the person he had to buy it from.” 

“We are all born flawed into this merciless world,” Kenji said, unsurprised that Lord Watanabe might have expressed this opinion to all and sundry. Damn that grumpy old man. But rest his soul, of course. 

“No doubt. Sit.” Ryuzo gestured at a dusty mat by the side of the cliff. “You brought a generous amount of sake as a gift.”

Too generous. Kenji had begun to regret it when the Straw Hat sentry had stopped him outside the camp. “I was hoping you might accept it by way of a downpayment,” Kenji said with a winning smile. “Also, it was partly from the women of my brewery. Two of them are still unmarried, so, if you have any men of good character and looks who might be interested in escorting our next sake run, feel free to send them our way.” 

Ryuzo let out a low laugh and glanced over at the sea. “I’ll think about it.”

“Are you unmarried, Ryuzo-san?” Kenji asked as innocently as he could. “Sana-chan from my brewery is a known beauty. She’d probably take over as toji when Ichika-san retires.” 

“Are you here to make a business deal or matchmake?” Ryuzo asked, chuckling. The last of the strange tension to his shoulders left him. “Ronin don’t make good husbands.”

“Fishermen and farmers make good husbands in times of peace. We aren’t in one of those times now.” 

“I suppose not,” Ryuzo said. 

Ryuzo was a hard nut to crack. Time for drastic measures. “Maa, it’s a pity she wasn’t born to a fancier family. She told me that she found Lord Sakai handsome. He hardly glanced at her, though. Maybe he was busy.” 

“Him?” Ryuzo scoffed. “I’ve never seen him look at a woman in that way. Tell her to forget it.” 

“What sort of man doesn’t look at beautiful women?” Kenji said, pretending to sound puzzled. “He isn’t like one of those lords who care overmuch about matters of birth, is he?”

“Jin? No. He isn’t like that.” Ryuzo stared hard at the sea. “He’s the sort of friend whose friendship is nearly unshakeable once you have it. He doesn’t care whether you’re a lord or a peasant.” 

“Nearly…?” 

“Some things aren’t easily forgivable,” Ryuzo said softly. His hands tightened a little on his lap.

That looked promising. “Isn’t Lord Sakai a broad-minded person? Having friends in sake-sellers, thieves, and ronin alike. He might surprise you.” 

Ryuzo regarded Kenji with a strange expression. “You speak like you know Jin well.” 

“Not at all! Not at all. Not like you.”

That got a frown. “Me?”

“He said you were his childhood friend. Very close. That’s why I thought to come here to talk business with you.” 

“Ah. No. We haven’t been friends for years.” Ryuzo made an ugly bark of a laugh. “He embarrassed me in front of the other samurai lords during a duel. That’s why I’m one of the ronin. I couldn’t get work elsewhere.”

“Couldn’t you just have asked him to employ you? Or put in a word on your behalf with his uncle?” 

Ryuzo shook his head, his eyes hard. “I didn’t want to speak to him. Too angry. When the Straw Hats made me an offer, I went. We haven’t spoken since. Until recently.” 

“Oh? That’s strange.” Trust Jin not to mention the duel. Also, trust Ryuzo to take it so personally. Kenji had never understood this point about warrior people. Why agree to hit each other with swords and then get so angry about the consequences? Why not have a drinking contest? That way, everyone could have good sake.

“What do you mean, strange?” Ryuzo said, suspicious. 

“He spoke as though he still saw you as someone close to him,” Kenji said, choosing his words with care. “Someone whom he might want to see more often.” 

Ryuzo tensed, giving Kenji an odd look. Was that an overreach? Ryuzo started to speak and stopped at the sound of loud laughter and singing from further in the camp. “Good sake,” Ryuzo said. 

“Thank you. We try our best.” 

“When is your next sake delivery?” 

“In three days.” 

Ryuzo inclined his head. “See you then.”

#

“Did you get anything out of Ryuzo?” Jin asked immediately as he walked up to Kenji.

Kenji nearly fell over the cask he’d been carrying in shock. “Lord Sakai! You nearly scared me to death. Here, give me a minute.” 

“I’ll help.” Jin lifted the casks with no visible effort, carrying them into storage. He nodded at the women working, but as usual, gave them little more than polite attention. Kenji met Sana’s gaze as he ushered Jin out, and she gave him a wink, gesturing at the ‘care package’ she’d prepared in the corner of the brewery. 

“Lord Sakai, you didn’t tell me that your friend Ryuzo-san was still so upset over some duel between you some time ago,” Kenji said once he’d walked Jin out to the tree-line. “Maa, why do people take things like that so personally anyway? It’s not like the both of you fought to the death. Does he just hate losing?” 

“He didn’t like losing so publicly.” Jin looked embarrassed. “Was it all because of the duel? I’ve already apologised.” 

“Maybe he didn’t find your apology sufficiently convincing. Or he held a grudge over it all this time? There’s a thin line between love and hate, you know. Especially since the results of the duel had such an impact on his life.” 

“I understand,” Jin said, distressed. “Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I should’ve seen it myself.” 

“It’s all right,” Kenji said soothingly. “There’s still a chance. When I asked Ryuzo-san if he was unmarried, he dodged the question. Why, I even brought up the fact that our Sana-chan is unmarried.” 

Jin’s face took on an odd, strained cast. “Ryuzo being…? He wasn’t interested in marriage when we were growing up. He’ll make someone lucky a good husband someday, but. What sort of woman is Sana-san?” 

Hoping to ward off any murder attempts on Sana, Kenji said, “It’s fine, he wasn’t interested. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” 

“Is it?” Jin now looked both confused and strained, an expression akin to constipation. Maybe he hadn’t been eating well. 

“Never mind, never mind. Anyway, the Straw Hats will be helping me with my next sake delivery. I can ask them about him and update you after.”

“All right,” Jin said, serious again. “Thank you for your work.” 

“No problem, no problem. This is what I do best. Help my friends.” Kenji patted Jin gingerly on the shoulder. “Off you go, hm?”

Back in the brewery, Sana said, “You didn’t give him the package?”

“I think it’s still premature,” Kenji said, rubbing at his chin. “This is more complicated than I thought. They’re both very repressed young men with a lot of personal issues about their fathers.” Kenji was fairly sure that was Jin’s problem, and would be willing to bet a cask of sake that it was Ryuzo’s too. Young men their age were predictable. 

Ichika sniffed loudly. “Men.” 

“Let’s not badmouth them too much. The Straw Hats will be helping with our next delivery. I’ve asked Ryuzo to send his most good-looking single men. Don’t say that I never do anything for you,” Kenji said, as Yua laughed. 

“You’re not getting out of that pay rise,” Ichika said, though she looked intrigued. 

“Hai, hai…”

#

Ryuzo made good on his word to send good-looking men for the job, though Kenji wasn’t expecting Ryuzo to come along as well. As Kenji and the extra help loaded full casks onto the cart, he realised belatedly that Sana had Ryuzo cornered near the kioke tubs. As the usual victim of the sharp end of her tongue, Kenji couldn’t be sure whether Sana was scoping Ryuzo out, giving him advice, or flaying him alive.

“She has good instincts,” said the Straw Hat helping Kenji lash the casks in place. Daiki, his name was. 

“I saw you looking everywhere but Sana-san’s face when you were introduced to her,” said Isao with a snicker, the Straw Hat holding the horse. “Don’t think she didn’t notice.” 

“So were you!” Daiki said accusingly, reddening. 

“Maybe she just liked talking to the only man who looked her in the eyes,” Kenji said with a grin. “Our Sana-chan has admirers everywhere. A man would have to work extra hard to stand out in her eyes.”

“She’s talking to Ryuzo, isn’t she?” Isao said, glancing over Kenji’s shoulder. “Not that she’d have a chance.”

“Why? Is your leader married?” Kenji asked. 

“No,” Daiki said, even as Isao said, “He might as well be, the way he’s going.”

“He has a lot on his mind,” Daiki said. 

“A whole lot of Ghost on his mind,” Isao said, smirking as Daiki rolled his eyes. “Can’t even talk about anything else nowadays.” 

“The Ghost?” Kenji asked. This sounded promising. 

“Quiet,” Daiki said, with a pointed look at Kenji. Ryuzo walked over with a strange look on his face, saying not a word as they lashed the last cask in place and began to walk. 

“Had a nice chat with the lovely Sana-san?” Isao asked, grinning mischievously once they were clear of the brewery. 

“Shut up,” Ryuzo muttered, glaring at the road ahead. 

“It isn’t right for a man like you to be alone,” Isao said, smacking Ryuzo on the shoulder. “As your family, we’re rightfully concerned on your behalf.” 

“I said quiet,” Ryuzo growled as he twisted out of reach. 

“Maa, if you keep frowning like that, you won’t be handsome anymore,” Daiki said and burst into laughter as Ryuzo levelled a furious glare in his direction. 

“Act your age,” Ryuzo told Daiki. 

“I’m your age,” Daiki shot back. 

“Exactly.” 

“All right, all right,” Kenji said as Ryuzo made a menacing step in Daiki’s direction. “Let’s not fight. My sake and I wouldn’t be able to stand the excitement.” 

“Who are we selling this sake to, by the way?” Isao asked. 

“Kunimura,” Kenji said. 

Ryuzo gave Kenji an incredulous look. “Kunimura? Isn’t he a middleman for the Mongols?” 

“Ah… I have heard that he is a particularly indiscriminate onseller…?” Kenji said, cringing under Ryuzo’s glare. How did the Straw Hats know something like this? Didn’t they spend all their time lurking in their camp?

“Does Jin know?” Ryuzo demanded.

“What Lord Sakai doesn’t know can’t disappoint him…?” Besides, the sake was a watered-down version of a bad batch.

Ryuzo let out a sharp laugh. “You’re an interesting friend for Jin to have. Not what I’d have expected.”

Wait. Was Ryuzo _jealous_? Eager to correct the misunderstanding, Kenji said, “Ah, well, he’s more like a friend of a friend, not like he is with you, haha. Only the other day he came by the brewery again, and I told him I talked to you, and yet again it was ‘Ryuzo this’ and ‘Ryuzo that’. Maa, it’s like listening to a young lady talk about her boyfriend.” 

Ryuzo reddened, even as Daiki and Isao burst out laughing. Isao slung an arm over Kenji’s shoulders. “You’re absolutely right, Kenji-san. Why, let me tell you, with our boss here, it’s always ‘Jin this’ and ‘Jin that’, very much like listening to a young lady talk about her new husband.” 

“I think I’ve heard a hundred stories about their childhood,” Daiki said. 

“You’re both dead,” Ryuzo muttered. 

“ _I_ haven’t heard any childhood stories,” Kenji said, but Ryuzo grumbled under his breath and kept walking. 

“Oh, I’ll volunteer one. There was this time when Jin and Ryuzo got lost in the woods because Jin decided to chase after some bird,” Daiki said with a little smirk. Ignoring Ryuzo’s glare, he said, “As it grew dark and they both grew hungry—”

“Daiki,” Ryuzo growled.

“They found some mushrooms growing on a tree,” Isao said, darting out of reach as Ryuzo made a grab for him. “Ryuzo says, ‘What if these mushrooms are poisonous’? And Jin looks into his eyes and says, ‘Then if we die, at least we die together’.” 

“Isao!” Ryuzo yelled. 

“A man like Jin has no fear,” Daiki said, imitating Ryuzo’s gruff voice. “Even when he was a boy.” He laughed as Ryuzo shoved him hard. 

“I think it’s a nice story,” Kenji said, staying diplomatically out of strangling distance. “It’s good to have people like that in your life.” 

Ryuzo sniffed, maintaining a murderous silence for the rest of the walk. Thankfully, his men weren’t so dour. Once establishing that Kunimura was one of Kenji’s regular clients, they’d even been amused. Kenji supposed that ronin and sake-sellers had more in common than they thought. The journey to Kunimura’s was quieter and quicker than usual, too. Usually, Kenji took care to stay off the road and keep an eye out for bandits. This time around, all they had to do was give the occasional Mongol patrol a wide berth. They made decent time to Kunimura’s storehouse, and the man took one long look at Ryuzo, then at Kenji, and didn’t even haggle over payment like he usually did.

Once back at the brewery, Kenji cut out a portion of the supplies Kunimura had handed over. “There. Your payment, and a little extra since it went so well,” Kenji said.

“What are you doing with the rest?” Ryuzo asked, looking at the medicines mixed in with the dried foodstuffs on the cart. 

“It’s for a refugee camp,” Kenji said, smiling nervously. “If you need some, I can spare a little, but there are some sick children who need it. If you don’t believe me, you can come to the camp with me,” he said as Ryuzo frowned at him. 

“I think I will,” Ryuzo said. He motioned for Daiki and Isao to pick up the Straw Hats’ payment. “See you both back at the camp,” he told them. 

Kenji tried to talk to Ryuzo on the way to the survivor’s camp, but Ryuzo returned each question with stony silence or a monosyllabic answer. Kenji let out a relieved breath by the time they got up the well-hidden slope and were greeted by shouts of recognition and relief. Ryuzo blinked. As Kenji went to get an update from the camp’s healer, Ryuzo helped the survivors unpack the cart, ignoring hushed murmurs and gestures at his weapons.

As Kenji and Ryuzo made their way back through the forest with an empty cart, Ryuzo said, “Now I understand why Jin calls you his friend.” 

“You’re too kind to say so,” Kenji said, chuckling. “The first time we met, I didn’t even want to help him. Yuna wanted me to get him and her into Azamo Bay, can you believe that?”

“Yuna?” 

Jealous again? Hastily, Kenji said, “A good friend of mine. I think she saved him from dying on Komoda beach or something. In return, he agreed to save her brother from Azamo Bay. Taka’s a genius blacksmith. I heard he’s thinking up a way for Lord Sakai to get into Castle Kaneda over the cliffs. That way, it wouldn’t just be one samurai, an old woman, an old archer, a thief, and some ronin assaulting a fortress head-on.” 

Ryuzo frowned. “Where is this blacksmith now?”

“I don’t know. After they escaped from the Bay, I guess they probably went into hiding somewhere. Taka isn’t much of a fighter.” 

“Hmm.” 

“I’m sure he wouldn’t be as close to Lord Sakai as you—” Kenji yelped. Ryuzo had unsheathed his tanto, laying the sharp edge close to Kenji’s throat.

“Enough,” Ryuzo bit out, glaring at Kenji. “What does he know? Sending you after me like this… I wouldn’t have expected it of him, but he isn’t much like the boy I knew.” 

“Ah… Ryuzo-san… could we please calm down and talk this over?” Kenji squeaked, holding up his palms. 

“Answer the question, or I’ll gut you and leave you on an anthill. Did Jin ask you to talk to me?” 

“Yes!” 

Ryuzo’s lip curled. “What did he say?” 

Kenji shut his eyes tightly. This was what he got for repeatedly poking a wolf. “He asked me to find out what you feel about him! Apologised for asking me to do something ‘dishonourable’ but I said, haha, I don’t think it’s dishonourable at all? It’s not much different from wakashūdo, and besides, it isn’t hurting anyone so…” He trailed off at a sharp inhalation from Ryuzo, cracking open an eye.

Ryuzo gawked at him. “Jin… what?” 

“He wanted to know whether things had changed since you were children. Said you were very handsome!” 

“We weren’t like that when we were…” Ryuzo trailed off, startled enough that his grip on his tanto eased. 

Kenji carefully pushed the blade further from his neck. He pressed a palm over his heart and put the other in the air. “I swear I’m telling you the truth. May the Gods strike me down if I’m not. They can strike down my brewery too.” 

Ryuzo’s ears pinked. “I never… I need to talk to Jin.” 

“By happy coincidence, he’ll be dropping by tomorrow to talk to me about you,” Kenji said, waggling his eyebrows. “You might as well cut out the middleman, hm?” 

“I. All right.” Ryuzo blinked slowly. He was like a man in a daze as he walked with Kenji back to the brewery. Before he left, Sana slipped him her care package with a whispered word that made Ryuzo cough and pick up his step. 

As Ryuzo walked out of sight, Yua said, “I’m not sure whether you did well or if you doused everything in oil and set it on fire.” 

“He looked like a man condemned,” Sana agreed. “What exactly did you say to him?” 

“Maybe they’d kill each other,” Ichika said, ever the pessimist. 

“They’ll be fine. I think.” Kenji hesitated. “But just in case, maybe we should hide our best sake tomorrow.”

#

Sana smiled cheekily at Ryuzo as he arrived early at the brewery. He couldn’t meet her eyes. Ryuzo could only thank the Gods that he’d decided to open her ‘gift’ before he reached the Straw Hats’ encampment, or he’d never have heard the end of it.

“Oh, Ryuzo-san,” Kenji said, peeking out behind one of the large kioke tubs. “Um, Lord Sakai isn’t here yet, so. Have a seat. Would you like some sake?” 

“I wouldn’t say no.” It’d calm his nerves, at least. Ryuzo hadn’t been able to sleep all night. 

The toji of the brewery, Ichika, knelt beside him with a plain tokkuri and two sake cups, pouring for the both of them. “It’s as good as the sake I used to drink in Castle Shimura,” Ryuzo said after a sip. Jin used to share it with him from the castle’s stores. 

“You’re kind to think so,” Ichika said, sipping hers. “Ryuzo-san, if I may say a few words?” 

“Please,” Ryuzo said, polite where free sake was concerned.

“Love is a waste of time,” Ichika said. She raised the cup to her lips. 

“ _Ichika-san_ ,” Kenji yelped from behind them somewhere. Yua stifled a gasp, even as Sana laughed. 

“People will almost always disappoint you,” Ichika continued, studying her cup. “It’s why I prefer to make sake. Creating something beautiful out of something beautiful takes craftsmanship, something that love is too fragile to stand. Love can’t be crafted and can’t be made into something it isn’t. It’s the most beautiful, meaningful, painful waste of time that humanity ever discovered.” She patted Ryuzo on the arm. “That’s why it’s for young people, who have all the time in the world to waste.” 

Ryuzo started to laugh. It bubbled out of him in rueful waves, until all he could do was toast Ichika and drink the rest of the tokkuri with her. As she withdrew, he contemplated the open road and the trees, rolling the empty cup in his fingers. When Jin finally knelt beside him, Ryuzo was ready to talk. “Jin,” he said, putting the cup aside. 

“I wasn’t expecting you here,” Jin said. He glanced over his shoulder at the too-curious onlookers.

“Ride with me,” Ryuzo said, getting to his feet. 

“I heard you’ve been working for Kenji,” Jin said as they mounted their horses. 

“Later.” Ryuzo led them to a quiet part of the coast, shaded by high cliffs. He sat on a large rock, stretching out his legs. Jin sat beside him, tilting his head. Despite being dressed in ragged travellers’ clothes, Jin’s upright bearing and quiet poise marked him out as more than he was. Ryuzo couldn’t look at him for long without a familiar, restless sensation crackling under his skin, something he’d once thought of as purely resentment. 

“Kenji admitted that you sent him to spy on me,” Ryuzo said. 

Jin grimaced. “I’m sorry. I felt it wasn’t something I could just speak to you about up front.” 

“The thing is, I’m still half-convinced you asked him to talk to me for some other purpose, but I’ve been doing some thinking. You’re one of the most interesting, most impressive people I’ve ever met. I’m not even surprised that you’re getting stronger despite all the odds you face. You’re like a force of nature.” 

“You’re quite impressive yourself,” Jin said with a wry smile. “Leading the Straw Hat Ronin at your age.” 

“I was going to betray you to the Khan,” Ryuzo said. He pretended to ignore the way Jin tensed up beside him. “You see, you and your ‘my uncle will make you a samurai!’ or ‘he’ll compensate you and your men’ are just promises. You’re asking us to do something we’ve never done: work for free for the promise of some vague reward in the future. The Khan isn’t.”

“Ryuzo,” Jin said. 

“Now, I’m not so sure. Maybe you can take the castle by yourself. If you manage to free Lord Shimura, you’re both famous swordsmen. With a small, determined support group, you might be able to drive out the Mongols and push the Khan to the north. With or without my help.” 

“I do have a plan to get into the castle through other means,” Jin said, “but. Ryuzo. I need you.” 

Ryuzo let out a dry laugh. “You don’t. You never have. A long time ago, I believed that you did, and it was a nice belief to have.” 

“Until the duel? I said that I’m sorry. If I could turn back time, if I’d known it’d come to this, I wouldn’t have agreed to the duel. Or I’d have let you win.” 

“You?” Ryuzo snorted. “You hate to lose.”

“I’d rather lose a duel than lose you,” Jin said fiercely. 

“Fight me again,” Ryuzo said, getting to his feet. “Here.” 

“What? Why?” 

“I’m curious to see how far you’ve come,” Ryuzo said, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Whether you’d be worth making an enemy of.” 

“I don’t want to hurt you. I never have.” 

“It’s a little late for that. Get up.” Ryuzo gestured at the sand. Jin got reluctantly to his feet. “If you need to prepare—”

“What for? We aren’t fighting to the death,” Jin said, with more conviction than he should have. He faced Ryuzo across the sand, his hand clenched tight on his scabbard. The desperately unhappy look on his face eased into a battle-learned calm as Ryuzo drew his katana. 

They circled each other on the sand, the sea spitting salt at their faces. Ryuzo struck first, darting in with a jab that had Jin rolling aside. His next strike met Jin’s guard, blades clashing once, twice, before they sprang apart. They were flowing into a familiar rhythm, one they’d learned together over the years as boys, playing at trying to break each other’s guard. Before, they’d been evenly matched. Now Ryuzo could sense Jin slowing to meet him, and it made him angry. He caught Jin in a feint and bared his teeth as he cut a shallow gash across Jin’s arm. Jin jerked back, staring at Ryuzo in shock. 

“Take this more seriously,” Ryuzo grit out. “Where’s the boy who tried to beat me to death in front of all the lords of Tsushima? Where’s the Ghost who single-handedly freed all the Mongol-held villages on this side of the island?” 

“I would not be that boy again if I could,” Jin said, though he raised his blade. This time, when he struck, it was lightning-quick, a jab that Ryuzo barely parried in time. He countered with a slice at Jin’s belly that Jin spun away from just in time, under Ryuzo’s guard, reversing his katana with beautiful efficiency. He turned the blade instead of ramming it into Ryuzo’s belly. It gashed against his clothes, opening up a stinging seam against his flank.

Ryuzo backed off, surveying the damage with a laugh. “You could’ve killed me.”

“We aren’t fighting to the death,” Jin said. He rushed Ryuzo, meeting his guard with strike after heavy strike until they locked blades, faces close. Close enough to see the heartbreak in Jin’s eyes. “Are we?” Jin whispered. 

Ryuzo shoved him away and swung at Jin’s arm. Jin parried at the last moment, breaking Ryuzo’s guard and aiming his sword in a furious strike at Ryuzo’s chest, faster than Ryuzo’s eye could follow. The tip of his blade stopped a finger’s breadth from Ryuzo’s heart. “Are we?” Jin demanded, his eyes bright. 

Lowering his blade, Ryuzo said, “You’re not meant to fight with your emotions. Didn’t your uncle tell you?” 

“Don’t make me do this, Ryuzo. It’ll destroy me.” 

“Will it?” Ryuzo said with a twist to his mouth. “Why should it? I’m only a ronin. You’re Lord Sakai, the daimyo of Omi Village. Probably the heir to Clan Shimura as well.”

"Why must I be all that and lose you?” Jin demanded, sheathing his sword angrily. He clenched his hands over Ryuzo’s shoulders. “You want more than promises? Tell me what you want, then. Three times I’ve helped you. I’ll help you three times more, ten times, a hundred times. What more do you want from me?” 

Ryuzo huffed, disoriented by the force of Jin’s will as always, when seeing it up close. He curled his free hand around the small of Jin’s back, pulling him closer. Jin let out a surprised sound, his hands faltering over Ryuzo’s shoulders. As Ryuzo bent tentatively, it was Jin who growled and kissed him hard on the mouth. 

The katana dropped onto the sand. Ryuzo staggered as Jin walked them back to the rock, pinning Ryuzo between his body and the cliff as they kissed. Ryuzo curled his hand around the back of Jin’s neck, gasping for breath as Jin bit him on his lower lip, then licked clumsily into his mouth, whining. 

“This isn’t my answer to your question,” Ryuzo murmured as they tried to catch their breath. 

“I know. You wouldn’t ask for something for yourself. You care about your men; I can see that. What do you want?”

“It’s hard watching family starve. Walking away, turning to banditry just to eat.” 

“The villages I saved need protection. Divide your men between them. I’ll speak to the village chiefs. If the Straw Hats are willing to work to protect the villages, they’d be fed. Maybe not as much as they were used to, but it’d be something.” Jin gripped Ryuzo’s arms tightly. “Don’t do this to me, Ryuzo. Please.” 

“We won’t be able to stop everyone from defecting,” Ryuzo said reluctantly, “but for now, I’ll try it your way.” 

Jin nodded, always quick to trust. Ryuzo kissed him for that, kissed him until he melted against Ryuzo, panting between kisses. They sank against the rock and sand with Jin straddling Ryuzo’s lap. Jin let out a surprised sound as Ryuzo spat on his palm and reached between them, navigating Jin’s clothes until he had his hand on Jin’s cock, stroking him as Jin buried a shout against Ryuzo’s throat, trembling. 

“How long?” Ryuzo asked as he made a fist of his fingers at the root of Jin’s cock and tugged, making Jin buck for his grip. “How long have you thought of doing this with me?” 

Jin blushed as he thrust into the tight pressure of Ryuzo’s fingers. “I never thought you’d want to.” 

“Doesn’t answer my question,” Ryuzo breathed, nipping at Jin’s ear as he slowed down. Jin growled, shifting to grind his ass against Ryuzo’s cock over the folds of his hakama, making Ryuzo yelp. 

“Long enough,” Jin grit out, kissing Ryuzo before he could ask further, reaching down to close his fingers over Ryuzo’s as his hips jerked into their combined grip. His breaths turned into groans as he pressed his cheek against Ryuzo’s shoulder, free hand clenching into a fist beside Ryuzo’s cheek. It was over in a rush, soiling their hands, spilling over their clothes. Ryuzo laughed breathlessly as they shook their hands out over the sand. 

“My turn,” Jin said, bending to lick a stripe up Ryuzo’s still-wet palm, making him moan.

#

Kenji perked up as Ryuzo walked into the brewery. Wiping his hands on a cloth, Kenji approached as Ryuzo looked around. “Ryuzo-san! Did you and Lord Sakai work things out?”

Ryuzo gave him a look of both amusement and resignation, an expression that Kenji had last seen Jin wear. “We did. Thanks to you, strangely enough.” 

“Wah, don’t say such hurtful things, I might be a lowly sake-seller, but I try my best, my absolute best,” Kenji said with a little bow. “What can I do for you? I don’t have any work yet. Maybe in a few days?” 

“I was wondering…” Ryuzo cleared his throat. “Is Sana-san here?” 

“Why?” Kenji asked, surprised. “Aren’t you and Lord Sakai…? Wah, or are you two with Sana…? That would be so modern?”

Ryuzo sputtered. “No! No. Not at all. I just wanted to know where she got that bottle of seaweed extract from,” he said, mumbling the words in a rush. “We’ve, ah. Already finished it.” 

“Did it taste that good?” Kenji blinked. Hidden behind the racks of dakidaru, Yua let out a loud burp of laughter that made Kenji flinch. As he glared at her, Yua walked over with a playful grin. Ryuzo stared at her uncertainly but held his ground. 

“Sana-chan took the day off,” Yua said, grinning playfully. “Daiki-san asked her out. He showed up here first thing in the morning with a nice horse and some flowers.” 

Ryuzo exhaled. “I’ll come back tomorrow.” 

“No need.” Yua leaned up and whispered something into Ryuzo’s ear. “If you go now, there might still be stock.”

“Thank you,” Ryuzo said.

“If you want to thank us, buy some sake,” Ichika called from the storeroom. 

“Ah, there’s no need, no need,” Kenji said, bemused by the discussion of a presumably magical seaweed extract, but Ryuzo chuckled and agreed to buy a small cask. As he rode out of sight, Kenji said, “This seaweed thing. Do you eat it with rice? Fish, maybe?” 

Ichika cackled. Yua patted Kenji on the shoulder. “It’s an acquired taste. Now, why don’t we drink some of your special reserves? Celebrate happy endings and all that.”

“Happy endings? We’re still in the middle of a war,” Kenji pointed out. 

Yua glowered at him. “Don’t be so stingy, or you’ll die alone.”

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: @manic_intent  
> prompt policy etc: https://manicintent.carrd.co/  
> —  
> Refs:
> 
> Notes about sake in Tsushima: yes, it’s historically inaccurate for that time period, and I’m going along with the canonical wrongness because I’m lazy https://kotaku.com/lets-get-nerdy-about-japanese-sake-in-ghost-of-tsushima-1844438641  
> https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/women-sake-brewers-in-japan
> 
> Thanks to StuartLohe for this link: https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a27017053/history-of-lube-sex/


End file.
